Do normal bicep curls target long head?

Author: Theo Grady  |  Last update: Sunday, October 19, 2025

Regular bicep curls mainly target the long head and short head of the bicep but one muscle that is often overlooked is the brachialis. Technically, the brachialis is a distinct muscle from your bicep. It sits somewhere between the bicep and the tricep.

Do cable curls work the long head of the bicep?

Compared to other bicep curl variations, cable curls provide greater tension throughout the full movement which can help with strength and hypertrophy. The fixed cable path can also help to improve form as it stabilises the movement. Do Cable Curls Work The Long Head? Cable curls do work the long head of the bicep.

What curl is best for a long head?

Drag curls are very effective. They are good at hitting the long head of the bicep in particular.

What head do regular bicep curls hit?

While hammer curls activate mostly the long head of the bicep, a traditional bicep curl activates the shorter head of the bicep. The shorter bicep head is what produces more of the muscle peak you might be looking for when trying to fill out those t-shirts.

What targets the long head of the bicep?

What exercise works the long head of the biceps? The best long head exercises include: concentration curls, preacher curls, chin-ups, Bayesian cable curls, hammer curls, close-grip barbell curls, and incline bicep curls.

Does Your Biceps Look Like This?

Do regular bicep curls work both heads?

Regular bicep curls mainly target the long head. and short head of the bicep, but one muscle that is often overlooked. and contributes to wider biceps is the brachialis. Rope hammer curls, reverse grip curls, hammer curl, bar dumbbell hammer curls.

How important is the long head of the bicep?

One of the important functions of the long head of the biceps is to stabilize the humeral head in the glenoid during powerful elbow flexion and forearm supination by the main muscle. Sacrifice of the intraarticular segment of this tendon in surgical procedures of the shoulder may produce instability and dysfunction.

Do regular bicep curls target the long head?

Regular bicep curls mainly target the long head and short head of the bicep but one muscle that is often overlooked is the brachialis. Technically, the brachialis is a distinct muscle from your bicep. It sits somewhere between the bicep and the tricep.

What do normal bicep curls target?

Laskowski, M.D: The biceps curl is an exercise you can do with dumbbells to build strength in your upper arm. Specifically, the biceps curl works the muscles in the front of the upper arm.

What bicep exercise hits all three heads?

The Weighted Chin Up is the best biceps exercise for hitting all three functions (elbow supination, elbow flexion and shoulder flexion) of the biceps with overload. This exercise will help you build strong arm muscles as well as build muscle mass and should be a mainstay in all your upper body workouts.

Is 2 bicep workouts enough?

Is 2 bicep exercises enough? Two basic bicep exercises is really not enough for training biceps and achieving serious arm growth. You should incorporate 3-4 different variations of the curl into your dumbbell biceps workout.

Which bicep curl is most effective?

Arguably the most efficient exercise in yielding maximum bicep growth, a recent study by the American Council on Exercise found that the seated concentration curl yielded 97% bicep activity in contrast to EZ-bar curls (wide grip 75%; narrow grip, 71%), incline curls (70%), and preacher curls (69%).

How to bulk up biceps?

The best exercise for growing the bicep muscle is any variation of the curl. Curls are best done using a barbell and weights or a set of dumbbells. If you're training in the gym, sitting at a bench or using the preacher curl machine can help to further concentrate tension on the bicep muscle, leading to bigger gains.

How to bias the long head bicep?

4 Ways to Emphasize the Long Head of the Biceps
  1. Place your hands close together when curling.
  2. Keep your elbows in at your sides.
  3. Use a neutral grip.
  4. Pull your elbows back beyond the line of your torso.

Do barbell curls hit long head?

The target areas of regular Barbell Curls include the short head bicep muscle (inner biceps) and the long head biceps muscle (outer biceps). Although it's not technically a biceps muscle, I include the brachialis as a targeted muscle group because it's responsible for the thickness of your arms.

Are short or long biceps better?

The only advantage of short biceps is that they have a better peak (the summit of your biceps when con-tracted). Long biceps have a less pronounced peak. Unfortunately, you cannot lengthen your biceps.

Do cable curls work long head?

The long head is one of the most important One-Arm Cable Curl muscles. This is the part of your biceps that really gets targeted when you focus on exercises that keep the muscle under constant tension, like the biggest Cable Bicep Curl or the Single Arm Cable Curl.

Are normal bicep curls effective?

Bicep curls work on all five components of the bicep in this exercise. While you don't work your triceps, they also help stabilize the elbow. You'll also exercise the forearm because they help bend the elbow and contract the muscles to hold your dumbbell or kettlebell.

How to grow a long head bicep?

The 8 Best Long-Head Bicep Exercises to Grow Huge Peaks
  1. Neutral Grip Pull-Ups. Play. ...
  2. Close Grip Chin-Ups. Play. ...
  3. Hammer Curls with Dumbbells. Play. ...
  4. Close Grip Preacher Curls. Play. ...
  5. Incline Dumbbell Curls. ...
  6. Bayesian Curls. ...
  7. Close Grip EZ Bar Curls. ...
  8. Drag Curls.

How to hit all three tricep heads?

Three exercises that hit all 3 heads of the triceps are:
  1. Cable Triceps Pushaway for long head.
  2. Diamond Cutter Pushup for lateral head.
  3. Close Grip Bench Press for medial head – try an underhand grip to see if you feel it more.

Are biceps hard to grow?

The biceps muscle is a small muscle group and limited to elbow flexion only. Clients can experience issues when trying to build bigger biceps because they simply do too much. This happens as a result of adding too many isolation exercises on top of the main compound exercises of each workout.

What is the beer drinking muscle?

This article will discuss the anatomy and function of brachioradialis muscle. Function: Its the Beer mug Raising muscle (i.e. flexes elbow, strongest when the wrist is held for holding a beer mug.) Innervation: Breaks Rule in that it's a flexor muscle, But Radial. (Radial nerve usually is for extensors).

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